Burma Shaves Press Rights in Proposed Law

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A proposed printing and publishing law submitted by Myanmar's Ministry of Information has alarmed free press advocates concerned that the Southeast Asian nation may be backtracking on its efforts to relax suppression of the news media.

According to accounts by Agence France Presse and Global Post, the proposed measure would subject members of unaccredited news organizations to a maximum six months' imprisonment, and would restrict reporting on articles that violate the ruling military junta's constitution or that cover ethnic groups' skirmishes.

The proposed legislation was published last week in Burmese state-run media. Reportedly, only half of the 17 media organizations to date that applied for daily licenses received government approval. The proposed bill appears to be a retreat by the government from relaxing constraints on the press, which included eliminating pre-publication censorship rules last August.

 "Banning news topics and legalizing the jailing of journalists is utterly inconsistent with the press freedom guarantees that authorities vowed the new law would promote," a spokesperson for the Committee to Protect Journalists lamented.

Myanmar Loosens Yoke on Journalists

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)Local journalists in Myanmar no longer have to submit their articles pre-publication for government approval, the Southeast Asian nation's Information Ministry announced yesterday.

According to accounts by Reuters and the Associated Press, President Thein Sein, who began to relax restrictions on press freedom last year, has ended the pre-publication approval practice that was in place for the nearly 50 years of military rule in the former Burma.

Before popping the champagne bottles in celebration of Myanmar's embracing concepts espoused by the First Amendment, however, it's worth noting that the nation still prohibits private daily newspapers and requires journalists post-publication to submit their work to the Press Scrutiny Dept., whose task it is to ensure publishing laws are not broken, which invites pervasive self-censorship. Lest we forget, the Committee to Protect Journalists last year reported Myanmar jailed a dozen journalists (see "TUOL" post 12/9/11).

Still, like new parents with a camcorder, it's worth acknowledging Myanmar's "baby steps" for posterity.